Huntington crash kills motorcycle passenger, 25

Photographs of Kelly Morehouse, 25, accented by a single rose make up a memorial inside the front window of Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Beach. The owner fo the shop, Rick "Rockin Fig" Fignetti, said Morehouse was like his adopted daughter.SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

HUNTINGTON BEACH – A Huntington Beach High School graduate died Saturday night after the motorcycle she was on was hit by a sedan driven by a man later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said.

Kelly Morehouse, 25, of Huntington Beach, died at a hospital about three hours after the collision, according to the Orange County coroner's office.

Tadashi Mizutani, 68, of Huntington Beach, was arrested shortly after the incident on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury, police said. Mizutani was taken to Huntington Beach Jail. He posted bail of $100,000, jail officials said.

Morehouse's boyfriend was driving the black 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle on which she was riding. It was traveling south on Goldenwest when it collided with a northbound blue 2010 Lexus sedan, driven by Mizutani, who was uninjured.

Morehouse and her boyfriend, 24, were treated at the scene and taken to the hospital. Morehouse was pronounced dead at 11:18 p.m. at UCI Medical Center in Orange, according to the coroner. Her boyfriend suffered broken legs and was in stable condition Sunday.

Morehouse is a 2006 graduate of Huntington Beach High School. Her parents, Karen and William Morehouse, are well-known as longtime teachers at the school, where Kelly's brother, Billy, is scheduled to graduate this month, said family friend, Tami Piscotty, in an email.

William Morehouse, who retired last year after 37 years of teaching, said his daughter graduated from Cal State Long Beach in May and was going to start student teaching in fall. Her goal was to be an elementary school teacher, he said.

"I've had a lot of students that have passed away but it's completely different when it's your kid," William Morehouse said. "I'm overwhelmed."

William Morehouse said his daughter, known as a "pistol" and "firecracker," was always motivating people to do better in life.

"She wouldn't let people feel depressed. She would make you understand that life is important to live for every minute," William Morehouse said. "Every day is important," he said.

Chanel Fignetti, 24, of Huntington Beach, said she has known Kelly Morehouse since middle school.

"She was a great friend. She always put everyone else before herself," Fignetti said. "There's not a day that goes by that I'm not going to miss her. She was beautiful inside and out."

Morehouse and her boyfriend had been together for seven years, Fignetti said.

"They were so in love. They were supposed to get engaged," Fignetti said. "She had everything going for her."

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Photographs of Kelly Morehouse, 25, accented by a single rose make up a memorial inside the front window of Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Beach. The owner fo the shop, Rick "Rockin Fig" Fignetti, said Morehouse was like his adopted daughter. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Kelly Morehouse, 25, of Huntington Beach COURTESY OF MOREHOUSE FAMILY
A set of wings and many photographs of Kelly Morehouse, 25, adorn the front window of Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The front window of Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Beach has a memorial to Kelly Morehouse, 25, the 2006 graduate of Huntington Beach High School who was killed Saturday night when the motorcycle she was a passenger on was hit by a driver suspected of being under influence. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A photo from a memorial of Kelly Morehouse, 25, of Huntington Beach, who died Saturday night after the motorcycle she was on was hit by a sedan driven by a man later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Kelly Morehouse, 25, of Huntington Beach, center, in a photo at a memorial in the Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters in Huntington Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A server at the Sugar Shack Cafe in Huntigton Beach walks by the memorial to Kelly Morehouse in the window of the restaurant where she worked. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A customer signs the waiting list next to a memorial for Kelly Morehouse at the Sugar Shack Cafe in Huntington Beach Monday morning. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A pedestrian stops to look at the front window of The Sugar Shack Cafe on Main Street in Huntington Beach. The window has a growing memorial to Kelly Morehouse, 25, who worked there. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A few messages are already written on a poster board on the front door of Rockin Fig Surf Headquarters on Main Street in Huntington Beach, part pf a a memorial to Kelly Morehouse. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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